Always
by lrigD
Summary: Something is upsetting Bones. What is it? Booth is determined to find out.


**_Hey, a new story! :)_**

**_Even though my computer is broken (that is a subtle hint to tell you there probably won't be any other updates soon). I wrote this story, then typed it out on someone's borrowed laptop. Hope that person doesn't mind._**

**_Anyway, I can't really remember when this came to me, except it did, and I don't know what to think of it. The way I made it, the first part has nothing to do with the second part. I will explain at the end, so as to not give away 'spoilers'._**

Aaaanyways... Enjoy!

* * *

He couldn't just leave her like that, could he? When she was vulnerable, seared with bleeding wounds? How could she believe running away would help? He'd follow her, always.

It was one dreary afternoon when they had to visit a nearby police station for information on their current case. The officer had insisted on them coming over rather than just sending the files over.

They were both silent in the car. Booth's thoughts went through every fact of this case again, and again he could not discover anything new. He groaned in frustration and looked over at his partner and friend Temperance Brennan, seated in the passenger's seat.

She was staring ahead of her, eyes unfocused. He noticed she looked tired, and made a mental note to get her to leave at six for once. Brennan had a habit of staying up late to work on a case and this one was no exception. He'd have to make sure she'd leave on time today.

He opened her mouth to ask her how she was doing, but then clamped it shut again. It'd have no use; she'd always say she was fine, it was just one of the things she did.

She'd been irritated the last few days, though the casual observer would notice no difference. Booth, however, was not a casual observer, nor were the other squints.

Whatever it was, he knew Bones was most likely not going to talk about it.

They reached the police station and got out of the car. A sturdy officer already stood waiting fort hem, his face brightening considerably when he saw them. He quickly stepped forward to escort them.

"I'm officer Randall," he said. He was looking at Bones appreciatively, his eyes looking up and down her body. Booth felt the familiar feeling of jealousy coming up. Bones, however, did not seem to notice and introduced herself and her partner to the man.

"Please, call me Stuart," the man said, ignoring Booth as he looked at Bones. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. Booth immediately disliked the man.

The 'information' turned out to not be so much new knowledge to them, but Randall insisted on talking it over. "Maybe over dinner?" Booth noticed with satisfaction that Bones gave him a dirty look before declining.

But Randall didn't seem to get the hint. He kept making suggestive remarks at Bones, brushing up against her and even grabbing her ass one time. That was when Booth had had enough.

"I think we know enough now," he said, standing up and looking over at Bones, "Sure," Randall said dismissively, his eyes on Bones. "You sure you don't wanna have that dinner? Dump Mr Nice Guy here and get to know a real man?" Booth refrained from clocking the guy, instead only giving him a dirty look. "C'mon Bones," he said, and Bones only nodded, relief quickly showing on her face before it became impassive again.

"You don't know what you're missin', honey!" Randall shouted after them. Booth clenched his fists.

Bones suddenly froze. He looked at her face and saw a whole range of emotions in her blue eyes. She was sad and afraid. _Why? _He wondered, but he didn't ask, instead pressing his hand against her lower back to remind her to keep walking.

She obediently followed him for once, and they wasted no more words on the ignorant officer.

Bones dismissed him almost immediately after they'd entered the lab again, claiming she needed to concentrate in order to find things she missed on the victim's body. Booth saw through it and knew she needed time to regain her composure, so he left, but not before telling Angela to keep an eye out for her friend. He didn't tell her why and she didn't ask, but simply nodded, assuring she'd look out for her. Booth left Brennan in good company.

So when he got the call, at 5.45 pm, he was surprised. He had just gotten ready to leave, keeping to his earlier promise to himself. He picked up quickly.

"Booth, she just left." Angela didn't need any more words to convince Booth something was wrong. Bones leaving before 6 on a case was virtually unheard of.

"Did anything happen?" he asked nonetheless.

"She seemed upset, but I have no idea why." Angela's voice took on a pleading tone. "Booth, _something_ is going on. She won't even talk to me." He could hear the hurt behind her words.

"I'll find her," he promised determinedly,putting on his jacket with one hand. "I'll talk to her."

"Please jelp her," Angela said, sounding almost in tears. Booth hid his surprise; he'd never given much thought to Angela and Bones' friendship, but apparently the bonds were strong.

"I will," he said in a soothing tone, then disconnected.

He wondered whether he should call her, but eventually decided against it; she would refuse any offer he made.

So when he turned up at her door, take-out in one hand, his other hand on the door, he was slightly nervous.

She'd been drinking. He could see the evidence on the table, but it was also a testament to how bad she was feeling. She hardly drank, and if she did, it was beer, not the wine that was currently on her coffee table.

"Booth, I'm not hungry," she said, eyeing the familiar white packages. Booth heard that she wasn't drunk.

"Well, I am," he replied lightly, giving her one of his charm smiles. It worked, because she opened the door to let him in, though she didn't smile back.

He wasn't sure how to approach the subject; for all the conversations they'd had, he'd never been in this situation.

"So, Bones, what's up?" he finally asked once they'd settled down.

She shrugged, not looking at him, His heart ached at her defeatedness. He didn't talk for a while. Simply studying her.

_God, she's beautiful,_ he thought to himself. She wasn't just hot, she had those definining features that made her beautiful; features Booth couldn't name, but were unmistakably present.

When she did look up, he thought he saw her eyes shining with moist. It was enough to make his restraint snap.

"Hey." He moved over to the couch on which she was sitting, lifting her chin with his finger.

"Don't shut me out, okay? Don't hide." He watched as tears materialized, and without further thought he pulled her into a hug.

She remained impassive, though shaking slightly with the effort to keep strong, to keep everything in.

He continued to hold her. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the thought registered that this was more than a hug between colleagues, even more than a hug between friends. But right now, he didn't care.

Eventually, she pulled back, her eyes a bit clearer, though still shining with unshed tears.

"Thank you," she said softly. Booth grew even more worried. Thanking for a hug wasn't something she usually did.

"What's wrong?" he asked, hoping that Bones' resolve had softened a bit by now.

"It doesn't matter," she said, looking away from him.

"It does," he objected. "When it's hurting you, it does."

"It's none of your business," she said, and Booth knew she didn't mean to insult him, but really thought it was none of his business; she didn't want to burden him. His heart constricted at the sight of this beautiful, accomplished woman, thinking she didn't deserve his attention.

"Then whose business is it?" he demanded, knowing what the answer would be, but needing to keep her talking.

"Booth, don't," she said, looking straight at him. He was astonished by the emotions in her eyes. They told him what she wasn't willing to share with words.

He didn't know what to do. For once, his infallible gut feeling failed him. He didn't want to leave her, but she obviously wanted to be left alone.

He decided to go with his instincts and stay.

"Is it me?" he asked, the only thing he could think of.

"No… ye-… no," she answered, confused. He decided to ignore the part that had said 'yes'.

"So then why won't you tell me?" he asked, moving to grasp one of her hands.

"Bones, I'm here for you."

She tried to pull her hand back, but he didn't let go.

"I've just had a bad week," she said finally, dismissively. "I'm okay."

"What happened then?" he asked, ignoring her last statement.

She tried to get back her hand again, and when he continued to hol dit, she sighed, annoyed.

"I won't run," she said. "I'm not wearing my shoes."

He knew she wasn't. Those little toes had distracted him before. This time, however, he wouldn't be distracted again.  
"I'm not doing it because I'm afraid you'll run," was the only thing he said, and she looked up sharply. Finally, she sighed again.

"A friend of me died this week 15 years ago." Silence followed those words.

"I'm sorry, Bones," Booth finally said, but then she continued like she hadn't heard him.

"Her parents called me yesterday evening." She was silent for a short moment. "They said they'd found a letter from her, addressed to me. They said on the envelope it said 'to my best friend ever.'" She looked up at Booth with empty eyes. "I was a horrible friend."

"Don't say that, Bones," he told her immediately. "Why do you say that?"

She looked at him again, weighing her options. Then she started talking again, telling him the story.

"She started a relationship with my ex-boyfriend." He hardly had time to process her quiet words. _She'd had a boyfriend back then_? Why didn't he know about that?

He waited but when she didn't continue, he opened his mouth.

"How does that make you a bad friend?"

"I didn't tell her who he really was."

Alarmbells went off in Booth's head? Who was he really? A maffia boss? A drugsdealer? High-school dropout?

"Who was he really?" he asked urgently, but she shook her head decisively.

"He give you that scar on your arm?" She looked at the scar, surprised, then at him.

"I'm not blind, Temperance," he told her. The use of her first name and the intensity in his eyes made her shiver.

"He abused Paulina. I never warned her. She thought she couldn't tell me." The short sentences hurt Booth like a dagger when he'd made the connection. He clenched his fists at the thought of anyone hurting his Bones. That bastard, he'd hunt him down, he'd pull –

"She killed herself." Bones' voice pierced through his revenge plans. She looked at him with pain in her eyes. "She killed herself because of me, and her parents still thank me every year for being such a great friend to her."

The tears did fall then, and Booth wasted no time in consoling her. He pulled her against him again, gently rocking her back and forth as she still tried to keep her tears in, but didn't succeed when Booth whispered 'it's okay, just let it out, it's okay' in her ear. Then she let out one sob, and the proverbial dam broke.

He whispered silly words of console in her ear, in her hair, wishing there was more he could do. He felt the tears land on his shirt, but didn't bother to feel. It didn't matter, it was only a shirt.

"Sssh, it's gonna be okay, sssh, Temperance…" his voice broke on her name. He could almost feel her anguish; he knew that the longer you held something in, the harder it would be when it did come out, and right now, it seemed like Bones had a lot of lost time to catch up on.

"You're gonna be fine honey, it's okay, I'm here for you." The endearment slipped out before he could form his words, but Bones hardly seemed to mind. She clung to him harder, his nails digging into his back as she cried. Booth secretly thought to himself he hadn't pictured the first time that would happen in this way, but the words were forgotten as she continued to cry.

He knew he was good at comforting, but right now, he felt helpless – she just cried, he could do whatever he wanted, but it didn't help.

He finally lifted her face, brushing his thumb to wipe the tears away. "You'll be okay," he whispered, bending forward to place a kiss on her forehead, then moving to the sides of her face, on her nose, her cheeks…

He knew he should stop. She was vulnerable, hurt and she definitely didn't need this. So he stopped just as he was near her mouth, pulling back with all his powers. _Not the time,_ he kept telling himself. _Not the time._

She had stopped crying. Her face was pale and blotchy, and she looked vaguely surprised and ashamed, but she was no longer crying.

"Booth…" her voice was shaky and breathless, but he knew exactly what she wanted to say. He shook his head.

"Now is not the time," he simply said. She looked up at him, eyes boring into his.

"Thank you," she said softly, and he knew she wasn't just thanking for letting her lean on him.

"Anytime, Temperance," he replied. "Promise me – anytime." He wanted her to stop running, stop hiding from everything. It would not help anyone.

She did not reply, but nodded. They looked at each other a few more seconds before Booth tore his gaze away. A few more seconds of that, and he would't behave so gentlemanly.

She went to bed, her own bed, even after insisting Booth should take her bed, she'd sleep on the couch, she'd be fine there. He didn't even let her finish, just directed her towards her bedroom.

But he couldn't get to sleep. The conversation kept playing through his head like a broken record, the pain his Bones must have endured suddenly painfully obvious. What else had happened, things he had no knowledge of? Who knew what had happened?

He stood up, quietly walking over to her bedroom. She hadn't closed the curtains, and the light of the moon was softly illuminating the room. He thanked god when he saw she was peacefully asleep, glad she could close her eyes and dream.

One day, he would know more. One day, they would be close enough she felt she could tell him anything, and he could rest again.

Until then, he would have to wait patiently and be there for her in times like these. He'd have to catch her when she'd fall, be her shoulder to cry on.

He wouldn't let her go – never. Even if she ran, he'd find her.

Always.

* * *

**_Wow, those last sentences sound stalkerly-like. _**

**_Anyway, I first meant to have a lot of things that'd make Bones cry. Like the creepy police officer, a broken shower, the anniversary of her friend's death. I'd also wanted to include the 'I love Booth but he doesn't love me back'-drama, and make this a romantic fic, but, well, they had other plans. Though it did became a BIT of a romantic fic. But just a veeery little bit. _**

**_This is completely unbeta'ed. Let's just say typing on laptops isn't my thing. I'd re-read it, check it myself, but I'm afraid internet will go out any second now. And then I'd have to start all over again. I don't think there are that many mistakes anyway._**

**_So, please tell me what you think! Reasons you should review: 1) It was my birthday yesterday! 2)Yesterday (so on my birthday) my computer broke down. Reviews will cheer me up. 3)Reviews are fun anyway :) 4)No computer means no Bones! So I'll be missing Bones this Thursday. That is actually the thing I regret most. God, now I am depressed._**

**_Wanna cheer me up? Review!_**

**_*lol*_**


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